Italian general election, 1950
The Italian general election, 1950 was held from 1 January to 1 July 1950, when the people of Italy voted to elect a new President. The election resulted in a victory for Christian Democracy, whose coalition won 38.94% of the vote. The election was the last Italian election in which the Italian Liberal Party was the main contender to the Christian Democrats; the Italian Communist Party and Italian Socialist Party won 26.54% of the popular vote, just 1.28% less votes than the Italian Liberal Party, which placed second with 27.82% of the vote. In the ensuing elections, the leftist bloc would become the main competitor and, in the next few elections, the victor. History Background Following World War II, the conservative Christian Democracy party emerged as the ruling party of the new Italian republic. The party supported free trade and government intervention in the economy, which meant that it had limits on its tax rates and tariff rates. This led to the governmental debt exponentially increasing, as the government could not pay for its expensive administrative and educational programs. The government started off by completely cutting military spending and upkeep, hoping to save money, but the Italian government soon fell deep into debt with the Bank of France and local Italian banks. The economy began to recover as the government improved the output of its mines, farms, and other industries, and the government began to make some financial gains. However, these gains ebbed and flowed, and the government was unable to establish a stable economy in which the government could repay all of the debts. Election The Christian Democrats lost the support of the people as a result of its economic policies; the party's lack of control over the poor economy - which was submerged in foreign debt - led to the Italian Liberal Party holding over 31% of the people's votes, while the Christian Democracy party held only around 24% of the vote. The Italian Socialist Party also made inroads into the election after it supported the nationalization of struggling mines and supported entrepreneurial organizations ; the Italian Communist Party also began to compete in elections after gaining widespread support in regions such as northern Italy and Lazio. Many teachers became Italian Social Movement supporters after rumors about a priest molesting children spread, with populists believing that the state gallows would provide justice to the priest, if the Catholic Church would not. The Italian Democratic Socialist Party campaigned on the idea that it could create new jobs for the Italian people, attracting voters to progressivism. The right-wing bloc won mostly based on the conservative views of the general populace however, not on the state of the economy; rural voters were unwilling to vote for a socialist regime that would raise taxes. The right-wing bloc won the election with 38.94% of the vote; the leftist coalition could muster only 26.54% of the vote. The Christian Democrats won in every region of Italy, with some regions supporting the Christian Democrats by only a small margin. Results * Christian Democracy - 21.74% * Italian Liberal Party - 27.82% * Italian Socialist Party - 11.82% * Italian Democratic Socialist Party - 6.68% * Italian Social Movement - 10.55% * Monarchist National Party - 6.65% * Italian Communist Party - 14.72% Category:Italian general elections Category:Elections